over the past few weeks I have had a few episodes (mainly when laying down on bed at night) where I feel like I am short of breath. Itâs an uncomfortable feeling where I have to almost breath manually instead of automatically.
I am still only on 10mg of Nori but would be surprised that after being on it for 7 weeks this symptom has only just started.
I saw my local GP today and they believe its more likely linked to the amount of pollen in the air and as I am cycling a lot I am breathing it in more and more. They have given me an asthma inhaler to trial for a few weeks (even though iâve never suffered from asthma before)
The GP was very thorough, they listened to my lungs, my heart, I did a special lung breathing test recorded by computer and also had a blood test and she has ruled out it being a clot or anything physically wrong with my lungs or heart.
Unfortunately, with this mav shite, many of us have chronic hay fever as well which is just fantastic! Last spring/ summer mine was hideous & so was the mav. I mentioned this on another thread, I have noticed even if I have had a good few days all I need is the slightest sniffle and my head starts feeling very woozyâŚI asked Dr S about this & he said it wonât be forever , whilst the brain is healing this will happen. Now for the good news, in theory if once we are healed the sniffles donât create the bobble head feeling, thereâs no reason why the hay fever shouldnât be as awful either! In the meantime I got stocked up on the loretadine & eye drops! X
Hey MM. I guess it could be anxiety although strange that I am not feeling as anxious lately. I have been doing a lot more and when ive been out riding (most recently 100km) I have no issues.
It could well be hayfever but its weird that ive never suffered with it before. The doc did say that this crap can just start one day out of the blue though so not ruling it out.
I get this Richy. It doesnât seem to be anxiety and, whilst I do get hayfever, this symptom is definitely not part of my hayfever. I noticed it first in Dec 2010 so not during hayfever season. I went to the doctors and they did an ECG, blood tests and confirmed my was heart was fine. I had been doing more exercise at the time (just simple arerobic stuff) and my diaphragm seemed to go really tight. I was short of breath and kept having to yawn and take really deep breaths to get air in my lungs. I have had episodes of it since then, usually linked to doing more physical activity. I did a post here a few months back asking if anyone else had it but I donât think they had. I assume it is related to my VM and I wondered if the muscles are more prone to spasm now. Someone else on another forum suggested I may have Lyme disease because apparently a phenomenon called âair hungerâ is a symptom of Lyme. I havenât been tested for Lyme so I donât know but fortunately it has gone away and seems to flare up sporadically. I wonder if what you describe is the same thingâŚ
NB/ I get hayfever too and the main symptoms of that are watery itchy eyes, sneezing, blocked nose, sore itchy throat and ear passageways and generally feeling more woozy and headachy.
Jem - you are completely correct about âair hunger.â I am not saying that Lyme is the only cause of breathing problems, but I have come to know it as common symptom of the coinfection Babesia.
If you have MAV and this symptom, I suggest you look into Lyme Disease and Babesia. Both are tick-borne and rampant in Switzerland and the EU in general, as well as the USA.
Both cause dizziness and MAV like symptoms. And a classic symptom of Babesia in particular is âair hungerâ, where you feel like you canât get enough air into your lungs / where breaths arentâ satisfying.
Do you get night sweats? Do you ahve any anxiety? Both classic with Lyme & Babesia.
I donât have night sweats and only had anxiety at the beginning when the dizziness first started and my balance went haywire which freaked out my brain. I donât really have that many symptoms, its mainly dizziness/off balance and fatigue and then neck pain which has been helped loads by nori.
everyone presents so very differently. there are 100s of strains of lyme and coinfections. and everyoneâs body reacts so differently to this infection.
i always found this document helpful. dr. burrascano is the top resarcher in this field. lymenet.org/BurrGuide200810.pdf
I definitely think itâs at least worth ruling out. if you decide to do so, Iâll answer any questions you have.
I know you are on a lyme mission. I appreciate the info you have provided itâs very useful but can you please try and calm it down. Youâre talking about Lyme in every post. I know why you are doing this. You should really be talking about Lyme in other illness section. We donât want people to worry when they donât need to and spend a fortune on unnecessary test
Like i said before it sounds like hayfever to me. The person i sit next next to at work has your symtons. He takes antihistamines. My hayfever started 2 years a go.
I just looked up Babesia on the Lyme Disease website and it said this:-
Symptoms of babesiosis are similar to those of Lyme disease but it more often starts with a high fever and chills. As the infection progresses, patients may develop fatigue, headache, drenching sweats, muscle aches, nausea, and vomiting. Babesiosis is often so mild it is not noticed but can be life-threatening to people with no spleen, the elderly, and people with weak immune systems. Complications include very low blood pressure, liver problems, severe hemolytic anemia (a breakdown of red blood cells), and kidney failure.
I know these infections present differently in different people but the description above does not really fit me. Also do people with Lyme generally go worse with time as it is left untreated? I donât really think mine has gone worse. I can get better and worse days and phases but I donât feel that it has just progressed going worse and worse with more symptoms which I would think would happen if I had Lyme. That is why I am not convinced I have Lyme, however I would like to rule it out. Itâs just a matter of getting the money really x
Like i said before it sounds like hayfever to me. The person i sit next next to at work has your symtons. He takes antihistamines. My hayfever started 2 years a go.
It could also be anxiety
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Indeed. Or asthma, pneumonia, bronchitis, pulmonary embolism, anemia, congestive heart failure, systemic mastocytosis (my personal favourite at this time), lung cancer, pneumothoraxâŚor⌠hayfever. Letâs go with hayfever as a first option before jumping to a Lyme diagnosis yet again. It is Spring time in Switzerland after all⌠Or at least give the Ventolin and/or anti histamines a trial first.
I had been doing more exercise at the time (just simple arerobic stuff) and my diaphragm seemed to go really tight. I was short of breath and kept having to yawn and take really deep breaths to get air in my lungs. I have had episodes of it since then, usually linked to doing more physical activity. I did a post here a few months back asking if anyone else had it but I donât think they hadâŚ
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Hi Jem
Iâm someone who had this exactly as you describe, some years ago now. A diaphragm that goes really tight - a perfect description. It bothered me a lot, scared me actually. I was so concerned I went to the GP who did a peak flow test, which was normal, if not better than normal. I never did find out what it was - tension maybe, I thought, holding myself all wrong - but I donât really know to this day. I think I had one or two minor episodes of it following that major one but itâs not been a problem for many years now. So, whatever it was, it seemed to be of no medical consequence, although it definitely caused me a lot of grief in terms of worry at the time!
Hi Richy,
not saying yours is anxiety, but I did battle against these very feelings (tight chest, canât get a âsatisfyingâ or âfull-enoughâ breath, etc) for a long, long time when I suffered from anxiety and panic attacks. My main focus would always be my breathing, and Iâd always be wary of it âclamping downâ. I found it very difficult to continue going to the gym, and would be afraid to get my breathing going too fast during exercise. I can almost revive the feeling even now (and Iâve been clear of anxiety and panic attacks for a long time now), by over-focusing on my breathing - instead of it happening autonomously, it then becomes a manual effort.
Thatâs interesting, I wonder what it is. I know mine isnât anxiety as I have had that and itâs not the same. It didnât happen whilst I was doing exercise, it was like a delayed response after a few weeks of exercising. Have you ruled out Lyme and other disorders? x
i get something similar only its kind of like i cant keep my eyes open and i panic a little- this happened even years before the mav- it happens typically in big crowded stores with a lot going on visually- like grocery stores or places like target. Its like i cant keep my eyes open bc it is too much visual info- if i focus on my breathing it will pass in a couple minutes and i calm down. i have also gotten this driving which is scary. just focusing on breathing right is what stops it or sometimes if in a store i close my eyes for a few seconds. i wonder if this is a migraine thing that i got way before the mav.
tony how r u doing on pizotifen, still going well?
Thatâs interesting, I wonder what it is. I know mine isnât anxiety as I have had that and itâs not the same. It didnât happen whilst I was doing exercise, it was like a delayed response after a few weeks of exercising. Have you ruled out Lyme and other disorders? x
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I donât believe mine was anxiety either. Youâre right, itâs not the same as that at all. Itâs really as if your diaphragm is stuck. I havenât ruled out Lyme with a test, no. I was pretty sure I had a watertight case of VM, with my history and all but lately, to be honest Iâve begun to wonder. So Iâm keeping an open mind but on balance I think my diagnosis of MAV from one hospital and VM from another is probably spot on, bearing in mind my symptoms and history etc. MS and Meniereâs were ruled out early on.
Do you feel you are moving forward and making progress now?
Everyone is complaining about theere hayfever starting. Must be the time of year and the weather